Cardboard boats to race Saturday on the Coosa

Thursday

The Etowah Baptist Mission Center’s fourth “Hope It Floats” cardboard boat race is Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Rainbow Landing. Ask EBMC Director Karen Lee about her favorite sunken boat over the years, and she’ll relate the tale of the less-than-seaworthy vessel “Chick Magnet.”

“We thought, ‘Those guys are going to really show out,’” Lee said.

Within seconds of the crew stepping into the doomed boat, the Chick Magnet sank straight into the Coosa. The surviving sailors had pluck, though, and have returned every year since.

“They did better the next year,” Lee explained.

The two-person boats have to be constructed within a fairly loose set of rules: materials can include cardboard, duct tape, a few different kind of adhesives and water-based paint, including sealer. Wax, wood, nails and the like aren’t allowed.

Contrary to lessons learned from the Chick Magnet disaster, some boats are put together well enough to use over and over; at least one, the “Blaze of Glory,” has come back more than once with different paint and names.

Money raised from the annual boat race helps the mission center provide financial aid to families that need help with bills, rent and food. Other services include the provision of household items and spiritual support, with a chaplain on duty to offer discussion and prayer. Between the $125 registration cost for racers and sponsorships, the event usually makes about $5,000 for the center.

The prize for fastest boat includes four tickets to an Alabama football game, with gas money, Alabama team merchandise and food. The boat with the best design wins a day out in Gadsden, with passes to The Factory, Tigers for Tomorrow, mini-golf at Noccalula Falls and food from local restaurants. The Titanic award, for the most impressively sunken ship, receives a mystery prize.

There will also be prizes during a duck scramble, where attendees can pay $1 to “rent” a rubber duck, and win a prize if the boat teams can manage to pilot to and retrieve it from the river.

Attending the race is free to the public, and registration is open until the start of the race. Rainbow Landing is on Highway 77 next to the Southside Bridge, on the north side of the Coosa. Food and shaved ice will be available to purchase. Call the Etowah Baptist Mission Center at 256-546-2980 for more information.

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